J. M. DeMatteis

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John Marc DeMatteis (born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books. A follower of the Indian guru Meher Baba, DeMatteis is known both for infusing superhero comics with spiritual concerns, and for his humorous touch.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

DeMatteis began as a music critic before getting his start in comic books at DC Comics in the late 1970s, when he contributed to the company's line of horror comics. He began writing for Marvel Comics in the late 1970s on the The Defenders, and had a lengthy run on Captain America, paired with penciler Mike Zeck.

[edit] 1980s

In 1987, DeMatteis and Zeck re-teamed for the six-part "Kraven's Last Hunt" arc that ran throughout Marvel's then three Spider-Man titles. DeMatteis also wrote the graphic novel Moonshadow for Marvel's Epic line, illustrated by Jon J. Muth. He followed that with Blood: A Tale a hallucinatory vampire story drawn by Kent Williams, and the 1986 Dr. Strange graphic novel Into Shambhala.

Moving back to DC, DeMatteis succeeded Gerry Conway as writer of the superhero-team title Justice League of America. When that series was cancelled in the wake of the the company-wide crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, DeMatteis stayed through its relaunch as Justice League International, scripting over the plots of Keith Giffen.

JLI took such lesser-known DC characters as Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Mister Miracle, Captain Atom, and Power Girl and turned the then-current preoccupation with "grim 'n' gritty" superheroes on its head. The lighthearted series, whose genre came to be known as bwahaha[citation needed], emphasized the absurd aspects of people with strange powers, wearing colorful costumes, volunteering to fight evildoers. While the League had its serious side and often faced world-threatening villains, it also featured such characters as the lovably inept G'nort, the worst Green Lantern in the Corps; Mr. Nebula, the interplanetary decorator; the Injustice League, a bunch of bumbling losers; and a flock of homicidal penguins who had been hybridized with piranhas.

[edit] 1990s

DeMatteis stayed with JLI for five years, often scripting its spin-offs (such as a Mister Miracle solo title, or a European branch of the Justice League). Back at Marvel, DeMatteis again succeeded Conway, this time as writer of The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1991, taking the series in a grimmer, more psychologically oriented direction. In collaboration with regular artist Sal Buscema, DeMatteis's story arc The Child Within (#178-184) featured the return of the Harry Osborn Green Goblin. Spider-Man's battle with the Goblin continued in The Osborn Legacy in #189 and came to an end when Harry was killed in The Best Of Enemies! (#200).

In the mid-1990s, DeMatteis took over from David Michelinie as writer of The Amazing Spider-Man for a run that included the apparent death of Peter Parker's Aunt May and the beginnings of the "Clone Saga" arc. DeMatteis as well worked on such characters as Doctor Strange, Daredevil Man-Thing, and the Silver Surfer.

He continued to write for DC, contributing tales of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate (reinventing the character in a 1980s series penciled by Shawn McManus); redefining the Spectre, through the character of Hal Jordan, as a spirit of redemption rather than of vengeance; and in 2003, with Giffen, revived the Justice League International for the miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League. The series won Giffen, DeMatteis and artist Kevin Maguire an Eisner Award. The team followed this with "I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League" arc in JLA Classified and, at Marvel, a five-issue run of The Defenders. In 2006, DeMatteis and Giffen began work on two original superhero comedy series, Hero Squared and Planetary Brigade for Boom! Studios.

DeMatteis wrote an autobiographical, digest-sized miniseries Brooklyn Dreams, published by DC's Paradox Press imprint. It was later collected in one volume under the Vertigo imprint. In 1996 he began work on the ongoing series Seekers into The Mystery which lasted 15 issues and told the story of Lucas Hart, a Hollywood writer on a journey of self-discovery and search for universal truths.

[edit] 21st century

DeMatteis later teamed with veteran artist Mike Ploog to create the CrossGen fantasy comic Abadazad (May 2004). The following year, Ploog and DeMatteis announced they were collaborating again on a five-issue miniseries, Stardust Kid, from the Image Comics imprint Desperado Publishing. The series moved to Boom! Studios in 2006.

The Disney corporation acquired Abadazad for its Hyperion Books for Children imprint. The first two books in the series — Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable and Abadazad: The Dream Thief — were released June 2006. Hyperion announced[citation needed] the third book in the planned 12-book series — Abadazad: The Puppet, The Professor and The Prophet — will be released February 2007.

[edit] Other media

DeMatteis has also written for television, having scripted episodes of the 1980s incarnation of The Twilight Zone, as well as the syndicated series The Adventures of Superboy and Earth: Final Conflict, as well as for the animated series Justice League Unlimited. He has written unproduced screenplays for Twentieth Century Fox, Disney Feature Animation and producer/directors Chris Columbus and Dean Devlin.

Also a musician, DeMatteis released one album in the late 1990s, How Many Lifetimes?

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Preceded by:
Roger Stern		 Captain America writer
1981		 Succeeded by:
David Anthony Kraft
Preceded by:
David Anthony Kraft		 Captain America writer
1982		 Succeeded by:
David Anthony Kraft
Preceded by:
David Anthony Kraft		 Captain America writer
1982–1984		 Succeeded by:
Mike Carlin
Preceded by:
Chris Claremont		 Man-Thing writer
1981–1988 (sporadic)		 Succeeded by:
Steve Gerber
Preceded by:
Simon Jowett		 Man-Thing writer
1997–1999		 Succeeded by:
Hans Rodionoff
Preceded by:
David Michelinie		 Amazing Spider-Man writer
1994–1995		 Succeeded by:
Tom DeFalco
Preceded by:
Scott Lobdell		 X-Factor (vol. 1) writer
1993–1994		 Succeeded by:
Todd DeZago
Preceded by:
D.G. Chichester		 Daredevil writer
1995–1996		 Succeeded by:
Karl Kesel
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